Educating children with life limiting and life threatening conditions

There are about 49,000 children and young people in the UK with a life limiting or life threatening condition; very many are in mainstream schools and the numbers are rising. Conditions include cancer, cerebral palsy, brain injury and Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

This workshop shared the findings from research which sought to understand teachers' views and experiences of working with children with these conditions, and to identify the support that they need. The multi-disciplinary research team used the findings to write a practical handbook for teachers and school-based staff. It aims to address teachers' concerns about; medical care, responding to government policies, children's emotional and behavioural needs, bereavement, how to communicate with children, families and professionals, teaching and learning strategies, and a school culture that includes support for teachers. We will share the book and try to answer your questions.

Ekins, A., Robinson, S., Durrant, I. and Summers, K. (2017) Educating Children with Life-Limiting Conditions. Routledge

Robinson, S., Ekins, A., Durrant, I. and Summers, K. (2018) Teachers communicating about life-limiting conditions, death and bereavement, Pastoral Care in Education: An International Journal of Personal, Social and Emotional Development, 36 (1), 57-69